“The next stop is … North Bethesda.”
Metro riders soon will hear those words as trains approach the station now known as “White Flint.”
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board unanimously approved the change at its meeting Thursday. The name change came at the request of Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, who wrote to the transit agency earlier this year.
In late March, a group of residents, businesses and others in the community chose North Bethesda as the new name for the station, which was followed by Elrich’s letter.
Elrich said at the time that the dismantling of the former White Flint Mall has been a significant change to the area that has shaped its identity.
“White Flint is no longer a relevant name or term used,” he wrote at the time.
Metro is planning to update its signage when the next phase of the Silver Line opens in Virginia, according to board meeting documents.
WMATA spokeswoman Sherri Ly told Bethesda Beat Thursday that the name change would take effect with the opening of the Silver Line expansion, although a date for that hasn’t been set. The Silver Line extension is projected to open next year, media outlets have reported.
Montgomery County has committed $332,000 to make signage change throughout the Metrorail system, according to meeting documents.
In the meeting materials, WMATA noted that North Bethesda “was not an obvious choice” for 4,720 people who were surveyed about the name change because it is “not currently connected to a sense of place.”
But WMATA also noted that commercial developments such as Pike & Rose have already gotten on board with the North Bethesda name and have used it in their branding.
Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@moco360.media